News

‘Cool Runnings:’ Jamaican bobsled team qualifies for Olympics

'COOL RUNNINGS:' Members of the Jamaican four-man bobsled team walk up the course after wiping out during a run at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Dec. 23, 1988. Photo: Associated Press

Cult sports movie “Cool Runnings” is repeating in real life after Jamaica’s bobsleigh team qualified for the upcoming Winter Olympic Games and a crowdsourcing campaign was launched to fund their trip to Russia.

The popular 1993 comedy, starring Leon Robinson and Doug E. Doug, was loosely based on the Jamaican national team’s debut in the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada, during which they crashed and failed to reach the finish line.

The film is now back in the news after it was announced the Jamaican national team has qualified for next month’s games in Sochi, Russia, but has been struggling financially.

One of the original Jamaican bobsledders, Devon Harris, has thrown his weight behind a fundraising campaign to get the two-man team to the Olympics, calling the drive “Cool Runnings 2,” and it has exceeded the initial $80,000 target after garnering overwhelming support from the public.

The campaign had raised more than $111,000 on Tuesday, and Harris admits he is thrilled with the response, writing in a post on the Crowdtilt.com website, “Let me take a minute to say a big thank you to all the friends and well-wishers of the Jamaica bobsleigh team… We are grateful for your overwhelming show of support. The monies you donated will be used to cover training expenses (food, board, traveling, track fees, etc), and equipment purchases as they team (sic) completes its final preparation for the Games. Funds will also be earmarked to ship the sled and related equipment to Russia.”

“Cool Runnings” was voted the most heart-warming movie of all time in a Lovefilm poll last year.